Fear Not ! Three Fears That Keep you From Losing Weight and How to Overcome Them

Did you know that the term, ’fear not’ is the most often repeated phrase in the bible?

God would never command us to do something that he has not enabled us to do yet fear seems to paralyze our dreams and hopes and can even keep us from experiencing the freedom, joy and peace that Christ died for us to experience.

Maybe it’s because instead of embracing our fears and seeing them as opportunities for growth, we see them as reasons to run and hide. In today’s post, we will look at how we can use our fears to propel us into purpose instead of making us run and retreat.

Fear is a feeling or emotion brought on by perceived threat. Core fears are our deepest, negative emotional response to perceived threat or danger that we’ve had as long as we can remember (childhood).

People experience hundreds of different fears but the 3 most recurrent fears seem to be at the root of what keeps many well-intentioned people from reaching their healthy weight. They are the fear of success, fear of failure and fear of trust/control. When you can identify and choose to transform your fears into faith you will experience the the abundant life in Christ.

1. FEAR OF SUCCESS

Fear of success sabotages some people’s weight loss because they believe that:

They need to keep on working hard to reach their goals.

People may no longer like them if they succeed in reaching their goals.

They can’t sustain the momentum they would need to achieve their goals.

They may say things like: “I will have to give up too much (time/money/focus) to maintain it” or “What if I can’t maintain the weight?”

These beliefs keep people from taking action or sabotaging themselves when they do.

FEAR OF FAILURE

Fear of failure sabotages some peoples weight loss because they believe that:

They have to have ‘all their ducks in a row’ before they can start their program.

Failing at something means that they’re a failure.

They must do everything perfectly and often end up frustrated or overwhelmed.

They may say things like: “Why bother? I’ve never succeeded before”, “What if I fail?” or “I have to get it right”

These beliefs keep people from taking action or sabotaging themselves when they do.

FEAR OF TRUST/CONTROL

Fear of trust/control sabotages some peoples weight loss because they believe that:

It is not safe to trust other people and/or God

They must do everything themselves or conversely, always rely on other people and seldom take responsibility for their own actions.

They are overwhelmed by the prospect of change

They may say things like: “I can’t control myself, I have to eat” or “I need food to make me feel better.”

These beliefs keep people from taking action or sabotaging themselves when they do.

How to Overcome Your Fears So You Can Start Losing Weight

These core fears and many more like them show up in our lives everyday in the form of our daily habits. Procrastinating, blaming, excuse-making, emotional eating are a few ways that these fears show up The problem is that we are not even conscious that what we’re saying and doing things is a result of our fears.

So what’s the solution? The key is to tune in and pay attention to your daily habits, they give you valuable insight into what your core fears are and how they sabotage you.

Other habits such as: always worrying about what other people are thinking about you; always needing to be in control; always feeling like everything needs to be perfect before you can start something; feeling like you need to be there for everyone but you neglect yourself. They are really just masks to hide our brokenness and so people can see us in a certain light. We’re so focused on maintaining these masks that our own health is perpetually neglected.

The key to your healing and breakthrough is to tune in and then learn to let go of these daily habits we’ve taken on and return to God’s original intent and design for our unique make up and personalities.

This is the first step and essence of our Healthy by Design Programs; revealing the root of the problem. You see, until you understand why you do what you do, you will continue to repeat it.

Next week, we will continue to go deeper. For the next week, I challenge you to pay attention to your daily habits. What are your biggest disappointments and upsets? Notice them, journal them, pray about them. They will provide deep insights into why you struggle with your weight.

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